Food / Is KALE sold available in Warsaw? Anyone fancy jarmuż in Poland? [5]

In Poland, Kale is a home-grown vegetable that is easy enough to get in the countryside. It's rarely sold in Polish stores, although you may see it in vegetable stands in January. Also, you're looking at the wrong time of the year. Kale is a winter vegetable, and requires a good frost before it becomes really tasty. December and January are peak kale season. It's one of the few green things available fresh at that time of the year. At the beginning of July, gardeners haven't even planted kale yet.

Study / Portugese erasmus student moving To Poznan. Job, rent, language? [9]

Agree with the others that the only work you are likely to find is in a call center, and with your level of education and lack of experience, it's likely to be sales-related cold-calling, the worst kind of call-center work available for the lowest pay. Lousy job for barely enough to survive on, if you live like a monk and count every penny. Handing out leaflets isn't an option, as you will never make enough to survive. Teaching in a language school is flat out, and tutoring will only bring in a small amount of money, if you find anyone to tutor at all.

The question is why aren't you getting an education yourself? That should be your highest priority right now. Your future is bleak without salable qualifications.

Real Estate / Day of exchange of contracts with property sellers in Poland [12]

Indeed. I would not authorize any transfer of funds unless you are in FULL possession of the property, and the sellers have completely moved out for good. There is something fishy going on here. If you can't arrange things exactly to your liking, then follow your instict and pull out completely. Otherwise, you're likely to get ripped off.

Work / Dutch speaker (native) experienced in Finance: job opportunities in Poland [63]

sobieski:
be able to join the Mon-Fri crowd.

MatteoCarati:
What do you mean by that?[/quote]

That option is generally for higher level managers and consultants on short-term contracts with foreign companies doing business in Poland. Sometimes also for instructors or product demonstrators. It's rarely for more than a few weeks, a few months tops, although it could be longer if you are visting branches in several cities. You would be paid at the foreign rate, and the company would provide accommodation, flights and perhaps a per diem. Unfortunately, the jobs for which this is the practice are all beyond your level.

Have to agree with the others that expecting to make decent money in Poland with your qualifications and experience is unrealistic. The best you're looking at is 2500 to 3000 PLN a month after taxes, and unless you get into upper level management or administration, or become a highly qualified specialist or consultant, you're going to top out at 4000 to 5000 PLN, and that only after at least five years. To make more than that, you have to be highly qualified, very experienced and in demand.. You have to be an ambitious self-starter and go getter, and have a great network of useful connections. You also have to be lucky.

Study / Portugese erasmus student moving To Poznan. Job, rent, language? [9]


I'd stay at home and study my butt off for those college levels so that I can get into the best school possible. Perhaps help out at your parents cafe and save up a little money, which you won't be able to do in Poland. Nothing wrong with visiting your friends there for a week or two, but spending a year there is a bit unrealistic.

Study / Rumor about racism - will I be fine in Poland as a black International student from Africa? [241]

Studying is certainly possible. Working, on the other hand, is extremely unlikely. Don't count on it. As a matter of fact, it's safest to assume that you will definitely not find work.

Work / Is there a market for teaching Dutch in Poland [22]

Agree with delphiandomine. Finding Poles interested in learning Dutch is easy. Finding students who are willing to pay is not. And finding reliable and dependable students is a whole other thing entirely.

Charging 60 PLN will attract few, if any students. That's my price for teaching English, and if it weren't for word of mouth, I would have few students indeed. Quality long-term students paying decent money comes only after you establish a reputation for yourself. Until then, you will have to put up with unreliable students who cancel lessons a lot or quit after a few lessons. You might bring in a few zlotys, but it's definitely not going to be much, and you won't be able to count on it. You certainly cannot assume that you are going to regularly bring in even 500 PLN a month.

Love / Cheated on... instead of the PL boyfriend the other lover announced it on FB? [26]

I don't think you're mature enough to be in a serious relationship. In any case, it's patently obvious that this one is not going to work out. Break it off completely, never ever contact him or any of the other parties involved again, do not respond to their attempts to contact you, grow up, and then find someone else.

Life / Planning to relocate to Wroclaw, Poland [17]

A one room studio apartment with all utilities and internet included is going to cost 1600 PLN or more. Maybe a little less if you live on the fringes of the city, but the commuting time will not be worth the savings.

Transportation will cost 90 PLN a month if you get the Urban card. More, even much more, if you don't.

Food is going to cost you about 900 PLN for a no-frills diet. 600 PLN perhaps for a small woman, but a man will have to eat a very spartan diet at that price. 300 PLN is just impossible. Your diet would consist solely of potatoes, onions and pasta. I spend about 1000 PLN for food, and that's mostly cooked and eaten at home. And you'll have to figure in household supplies.

Entertainment is expensive if you like nightclubs and alcohol, or want to see the latest films in the cinemas. I know expats who spend over 1000 PLN a month on going out.

In short, living in a studio apartment, you'll need at least 2700 PLN per month AFTER TAXES just to survive as a single man who doesn't smoke or drink. Less than that, and you're life is going to be grim and spartan to the extreme. Even with 2700 PLN a month, you'll have no money left over at the end of the month, and you won't be able to save anything up or send home. Life doesn't begin to get comfortable until you make more than 4000 PLN AFTER TAXES as a single man.

Law / Opening "Budke Gastronomiczna" [37]


It's not worth the invcstment, then, if this is all that you exect to make. Certainly not worth the risk, and the food business is a very risky business indeed.

Might as well try to make a living as a teacher already, or work in a call center. Better yet, translate. There's plenty of work if you have a specialty.

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]


1500 PLN with utilities for one person in a two-bedroom apartment, all costs and utilities included. Living alone, a studio apartment will set you back about the same, and a one-bedroom apartment will cost about 2000 PLN or slightly more. Depends what you mean by "medium/expensive". If you mean expensive, you could pay double the prices I gave above.


600 to 1000 PLN per month, depending on the diet you eat, including household items and toiletries.


Anywhere from 30 PLN and up a night, if the only thing you have to pay for is beer. Really depends on what you mean by "going out".

All in all, it'll cost you about 3000 PLN to live a no frills life in Kraków. And that really means no frills, and no money left over at the end of the month, and no security blanket. The fun doesn't begin until you make 5000 PLN or more after taxes.

Work / Salary and cost of living information - Krakow [257]


If your very careful, disciplined and frugal, you'd be able to put away at most 300 Euros a month. Perhaps a bit more if you are extremely careful, disciplined, frugal and lucky, like you don't get sick or have to go to the dentist, for example, or have to travel back to the Netherlands for a wedding or funeral. Not much, but after a year or two, you'll have a rainy day fund to fall back on.

The biggest hit a westerner takes when moving to Poland to work is how little money they are able to save in terms of dollars or euros. Like someone told you before, if you're coming to Poland for fun, adventure and experience, fine, go for it. If you're coming to Poland to make money, forget about it with your qualifications.

You're much better off keeping your job in Belgium, and improving your qualifications and building up your experience there. In five years or so, if you work and study hard, you may be in a position to get a job as a project manager or something like that for a western company doing business in Poland, and get paid at western rates. That would be a smart course of action. Learn the language before you come, and read up on Polish law and finance.

Life / Where do artists like to live in Poland? [21]


Kraków, Warsaw, Wrocław, Trójmiasto, Poznan and Katowice, approximaely in that order.


In Kraków, Nowa Huta and Podgórze, both very interesting neighborhoods, are the places favored by young artists now. Kazimierz has become rather trendy, and artists are moving on from there. In Wrocław, Śródmieście is the place for young artists. In Trójmiasto, Orłowo is the place for serious artists. Not cheap, but beautiful. In Katowice, old, "scenic" neighborhoods like Nikiszowiec are popular among artists.


Au contraire. Thriving artist communities in the smaller cities, especially in Kazimierz Dolny and £owicz. Other good places are Cieszyn and Jelenia Góra. A lot of artists seek out quiet villages, especially in Bieszczady, Suwałszczyzna, Kaszuby and Ziemia Kłodzka. I have an artist friend who lives in Wisła, which on the map, and in real life, looks pretty isolated (but gorgeous), but has excellent transport connections, including a direct express train to Katowice and Warsaw.


Lots of better places than that for younger artists on a budget. Dresden Neustadt, for example, has a fantastic art scene. The festival there in June is a must-do.

Real Estate / Cost of room in Warsaw? Where to look for accomodation? [31]

researchers

For a no-frills two room apartment, that is, one bedroom and a living room that may or may not be open to the kitchen, expect to pay at least 2200 PLN with all fees and utilities (heat, water, gas, electricty, but not internet). In other words, at least 1100 PLN per person if two people stay there.

For a three room apartment (two bedrooms), add about 500 PLN to the above. Beware that the second bedroom is usually TINY. If you're looking for two good-sized bedrooms, add about 700 PLN to the above. That is, 1300 to 1500 PLN per person if two people live there.

For a single room in a student apartment, expect to pay anywhere from 600 PLN (all utilities and fees included, except internet), for a TINY room for one person, to over 1000 PLN for a room big enough for two people. That is, 600 to 800 per person.

You could do it slightly cheaper if you and your friend are willing to cram both of you into a tiny room, but consider 500 PLN per person the bottom limit.

Those are the minimum prices you're likely to see. Remember, the best and cheapest student apartments have been taken already at this time of the year, or soon will be.

Real Estate / Cost of room in Warsaw? Where to look for accomodation? [31]


That's about 1700 to 1900 PLN with utilities and fees, so about 850 to 950 per person, and way below market value. Expect there to be serious problems with the apartment (very hard to get to the city center, bad building or neighborhood, very small rooms, poor condition, reeks of cat urine, cockroaches, extremely small "kitchen annex" that is essentially useless for cooking, microscopic bathroom, bad windows (means heating is going to be VERY expensive), dampness and mold, or something else major). Another problem that you may have, which is very important for you, is that the landlord may not permit you to register your address there.

For example, one place I checked out that was unusually cheap turned out to be an apartment built over a car alarm shop, next to the main railroad tracks in a rundown part of town with poor access to the city center. Not exactly a good place to study. Another was in a building that reeked so bad of cat urine that I almost vomited when I went in. Another had rooms so small that there was no way to fit both a bed and a desk in them. Yet another was so far out I might as well have been living in a different city.

For your own room, like I said, the cheapest you're going to pay is 600 PLN for a VERY TINY room in a student apartment, to 1500 PLN in a two-bedroom apartment.

My advice is not to even waste your time checking out these unusully cheap places.

As for fees and utilities, it depends a lot on the heating and building association fees, but expect to pay 300 to 400 PLN per person, and 500 to 700 per two persons, plus or minus, over the rent price you see in the . Bad windows could double that, so have someone competent check out the place for you amd make sure it's OK before signing anything.

Also, remember that, in Poland, a two room apartment means only one bedroom.

Life / Does Magic Jack work in Poland? [11]


Why? Skype is free. Yesterday, from Poland, I spoke to my former students in London, Norway and Georgia (the country, not the state) for hours and it didn't cost me a dime.

Sound quality is excellent, and video usually works fine, too.

UK, Ireland / Calling a friend from UK to Poland. Cheap option? [13]

If you both have internet access, Skype is totally free, and you can talk for hours and hours. Sound quality is excellent, and you can do video, too. I keep in touch with my family in the States and my friends all over the world with it.

Work / Moving to Lodz - will my 2500 PLN salary be enough? [52]


More like over 95%. Even in Wrocław, more than 80% of the prewar architecture is neglected and needs major attention.

£ódź does have a lot of fine art-deco buildings, most, unfortunately, dilapidated. However, if you read up on art-deco in £ódź, you'll appreciate the city more for what it once was. I used to like visiting my friend in Bałuty. The view from his balcony was interesting: the surrounding buildings were shored up with telephone poles. Here's a picture:

nieznana-epoka.com/s/cc_images/cache_3714080504.jpg?t=1354681607

However, it had a certain charm, like a de Chirico painting. Created a eerie atmosphere in the early morning when I would go out to drink my coffee.

Life / Costs of living Warsaw vs the provinces [8]


1500 to 2000 PLN, including building association fees and all utilities except internet. Maybe a little more, depending on what you mean by decent.

Life / Moving to Krakow (and other questions) [23]


Bad decision. The job market is much more competititve in Poland than in the UK, and without an advanced degree, special qualifications, high-level experience in high-level positions, and knowledge of the local language, you are at a very big disadvantage. Your experience as an office worker won't count for much. Office workers are dime a dozen here. Chances are remote to the extreme that you will find anything in Kraków besides working in a call center, which pays very poorly. So poorly, that having your own apartment in the center of the city is going to be challenging or downright impossible.

Teaching is probably not an option open to you if you want to live in Kraków. It is the most competitive market for English teachers in the country, and the market is way oversaturated with job-seekers who are better qualified than you, even if you were to take the CELTA. Taking the CELTA would probably be just a waste of money in this case.

Your best bet is to stay in the UK and take advantage of the oportunities available to you to beef up your qualifications. Your chances of finding gainful employment for a decent wage are much, much higher there than in Poland, and you will not be able to expand your qualifications in Poland. However bad your chances of finding work in the UK may seem to you, they are absolutely rosy when compared to your chances of making a go of it in Poland. There's a darn good reason why so many Poles emigrate to find work in the UK, and so few Brits emigrate to Poland.

If you want, you could keep looking for a job in Kraków while still in the UK. Like I said, the chances are remote, but you might hit on something. If you're going to be making less than 3500 more more net AFTER TAXES, you are unlikely to break even. Problem is, for wages that high, there are few, if any, jobs in Kraków for non-Polish speakers who do not have a degree.

Whatever you do, don't come to Poland on the hope of finding a decent-paying job once you get here. That just ain't gonna happen. At best, it would be a very expensive vacation at a time in your life when you can little afford to spend time and money goofing off. See a career counselor and examine your options at home.

Law / U.S. Citizen Moving to Poland - opening business? [36]

Too many unknowns here to give a useful answer. How old are you? Are you single, or do you have any dependents? Do you have any degrees or professional certificates? If so, do you have any relevant experience in a professional field? Do you speak Polish, and at what level? Do you plan to find work in Poland? I notice that you own a lawn care business. How big is it, and will it guarantee you sufficient income to live in Poland? You mentioned buying a house in Poland. Cash down, or how do you expect to finance it? WHERE do you want to live in Poland? Most of all, why exactly do you want to move to Poland? (Because you have family here is not an answer to that question).

Like I said, your questin is far too vague to even begin answering.

BTW, I'm originally from up the line in Dupont. When I was a kid, long long ago, my dad used to take us to Shamokin to watch the cute little trains.

Life / Moving to Krakow (and other questions) [23]


Or you will need either specialist expertise in some field like computer science, or proven sales experience to make decent money. For an unqualified, uneducated former office worker who only speaks English, a job that pays decent wages is pretty much out of the question.

Law / U.S. Citizen Moving to Poland - opening business? [36]

Because of the particulars of you case, you should make an appointment with someone at the Polish Embassy in New York to discuss your options. You're unlikely to get a satisfactory answer here. There are special visas for businessmen and investors.

Rather than starting your own business, it might be better to invest in or become a partner in an already established business. As you probably know, Bolesławiec is famed for its porcelain. You could, for example, start a business in partnership with the local porcelain factories to import and promote their wares in the US.

Another possibility is connected with the touristic potential of the Lower Silesian area, which offers a lot but is tragically underexpoited and underdeveloped. It could do with a lot more American tourists. Lower Silesia has the highest density of castles and palaces in all of Europe. My own family was impressed when they came here to visit me. I can give you a good contact there: Marian Piasecki, who owns and operates the Park of Miniature Castles and Palaces in Kowary. He's a truly amazing and inspiring individual, and, even if you don't partner directly with him, he can give you tons of ideas and leads about the tourist industry in Lower Silesia. You can contact him by e-mail here: poczta@park-miniatur.com

As for getting residence, that's probably not going to be a problem. The person you want to talk to is Tomasz Bruder, the director of the Department for Alien Affairs at the Urząd Wojewódzki in Wrocław, which is where you woll have to apply for your residency permit. He's a cool guy and very helpful, one of those rare civil servants that is a true servant.

I take it you've visited Bolesławiec. If not, do some thorough research and visit. Check out what businesses are already established and evaluate your possible future role in the local economy. An ambassador is going to be much more impressed by concrete and realistic plans than by vague ideas, even is they are backed up by a stack of cash.

You do have a ton of possibilites open to you. Do your research and come up with a solid plan, and nothing is going to stand in your way.

Good luck!

PS: $500,000 buys a heck of a lot of house in Bolesławiec. I mean, like a luxury house, even by American standards. Be careful of investing in real estate until you know the local market well. It might be wise to rent before then until you do your research. There are a lot of unscrupulous operators in that business. Also, work through a reliable local intermediary when buying real estate. Find someone you can trust, and don't do anything before then. The last thing you want to do is get stuck with an albatross that you could not possibly sell except at a huge loss.

Work / How is the Warsaw job opportunities for international students? [43]


You may be allowed to, but the chances of actually finding work as a foreign student from outside of the EU who does not speak Polish is essentially zero. Poland is a country that people emmigrate FROM to find work, not a country that people seeking work immigrate TO.

Agree with Monitor that your chances are better in Russia.

Travel / Live cameras over Poland [21]

It's Polish. Spiż means brass or bronze.

Work / What type of career can you find in Poland after completing Business School in the US? [18]

Yes, those are the most promising for finding a job. Whether the job pays well depends very much on your qualifications and experience. In reality, you won't start making decent money until you advance to project manager, so your education should prepare you for management and administration.

Logistics is also another area of engineering that is promising, though, as above, the decent wages are reserved for project and regional managers and above.

I have to agree with Monitor above about other branches of engineering. Civil engineers are having a difficult time right now because of the bust in the construction business, and that is not going to improve soon. Research-oriented branches such as materials engineering are not useful for finding a job in Poland because research and development are hopelessly underfunded, and there are more than enough engineers to supply the needs of the market. Other branches of engineering are also very competitive.

As far as dentistry and other medical fields, forget about it if you want to work in Poland. The pay is very poor unless you own your own private practice, which takes a great deal of investment capital. You would be much better off working in the States or Western Europe, particularly Scandinavia.

Probably the most realistic way of getting decent wages in Poland is to find a job with an American company and get transferred to Poland with American wages. the fact that you speak Polish fluently and have citizenship offer you a distinct advantage.

Whatever you do, make sure that you have a very firm basis in sciences and math, including critical thinking. That puts you on a completely different plane of existence than mere mortals, both in school and on the job market.

Work / What type of career can you find in Poland after completing Business School in the US? [18]


I meant management and administration courses as part of the engineering degree. But if he is planning on getting an MBA or such, then you're right. They are worthless if they do not come from top schools.


Yes, they do earn very little compared to the States or Western Europe. I have friends in the medical field that live in Wrocław and Poznań, but work in Germany. The diploma will be recognized, but you will have to sit for Polish exams and have to go through "nostrifikacja", which is aggravating and time consuming. Another thing to consider is that Polish medical facilities are primitive compared to their high-tech space age Western counterparts. I remember being toured around a hospital laboratory here in Wrocław and being shocked that the equiptment I saw them using would be considered museum material in the States. Also visiting my the house of my friend, who is a doctor with a lucrative in-home private practice, and seeing his table covered with chickens, eggs and various produce- payments by patients who could not afford to pay in cash. Definitely recommend against anything related to medicine if you want to live and work in Poland.

All in all, whatever he studies, the OP is going to have to take a major pay cut if they want to work in Poland, and the lower cost of living is going to come nowhere close to offsetting that.

Travel / Opinion on which cities in Poland to spend the most days in. [21]

You only have six full days, far too little for three cities. Cut Gdansk, and spend four days in Warsaw and two in Poznan. That way you won't waste too much time on travel. The train from Warsaw to Poznan takes only about three hours. If you must add a third city, pick Wrocław, which is only two and a half hours away from Poznan by train. Or take a day trip from Warsaw to Kazimierz Dolny. If you go to Gdansk, you will spend a lot more time on travel.

Work / What is life like in Poland for a student? [26]


Smart kid. The reason so many people leave Poland is that it is easier to find a job abroad than in Poland. Also, Polish universities are generally not as good as their American or Western European counterparts. Poland is still a poor country compared to American and Western Europe, and life is more difficult. It would not be a good idea to study in Poland.

Having said that, I am an American with Polish roots who has been living in Poland for eleven years. Because I am a highly trained scientist, I've been able to make a decent living as a scientific translator here. Nothing like the money I earned working in the hospital in the States, but enough to get by, and without the stress. Fortunately, I don't have a family to support. If I did, I would not be living in Poland. I live in Wrocław, which is the nicest city in Poland.

Keep studying Polish, study at a good university in your country. And then when you are financially secure and self-sufficient, and have qualifications and experience that you can sell, move to Poland for a while and try it out.

Work / What is life like in Poland for a student? [26]


There's no accounting for taste.